I debated making a log for a few days now, but I just said screw it. A big part of me wants to do this to write out my acne history in the first post because writing it down makes it real, and actually makes me feel. Even though it's extremely depressing and takes a toll on my self esteem, I tend to focus on fixing it now now now without thinking about the past. Because it's real. And it's been real for over 4 years.

I've been very lucky to have had clear skin my entire pre-teen and teenage years. Smooth texture, even complexion, absolutely nothing to complain about back then. Fast forward to between ages 21-22 and the acne started slowly arising. I was going through a VERY bad place in my life back then... and I'm not just saying that, I honestly mean it. I prefer not going into detail because even so much as thinking about it makes me cry. Anyway, I don't know if that's what caused the onset of it, but when things got better for me, the acne just progressively got worse. I thought it may have been PTSD due to what I had been through, but it was determined by two psychiatrists that I do not have it.

Like most of us here I have tried almost everything - all of the drugstore brands, internal and external antibacterial products, going the organic route, doxycycline, differin, retin-a, accutane.... and I'm fed up. After almost paralyzing my back from accutane (luckily I came off of it quickly enough to not cause any permanent damage), I came to just accept that my bodily fuctions were more important than trying to get rid of my acne. So after that I went back to convential OTC products that just kept it mildly at bay.

I am very lucky to have met someone who loves me for who I am. He persued me, and I was pretty shocked by that due to my acne. We've been together for a little over 3 years and are now engaged, and he's been so supportive with putting up with my acne and the treatments I've gone through to try to cure it. I complain so much, and I didn't even realize JUST how much until he finally snapped and said something about it during a fight. I don't blame him because he's right. All I've been doing is complaining instead of trying.

Enter YouTube and the great reviews about The Regimen. After sitting on it for a couple of weeks and reading the reviews on each of the products, I decided to order the BP and use my own versions of the cleanser and moisturizer.

I officially started the night of Oct. 9th, and am now going onto my third day.

Current Routine:

AM:

- Olay Sensitive Skin Foaming Face Wash

- Jojoba Oil

PM:

- Olay Sensitive Skin Foaming Face Wash

- 1/2 pump acne.org BP

- Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture for Combination Skin + Jojoba Oil

I guess I'll update this when I up the BP and other things change! Thanks for reading.

Edited by xdevochkax, 07 November 2013 - 01:12 AM.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

I probably should have noted this before, but I'm staying away from Cetaphil and CeraVe moisturizers because those have clogged my pores like crazy every time I've used them in the past, even though I love the consistency of those two. Great for my body, horrible for my face. Sigh.

So far so good with the Neutrogena moisturizer + jojoba, though. My face tends to react well with Neutrogena products as well as natural oils so right now I'm just having an issue of experimenting with the amount that I need. Since I'm not using BP in the morning yet, I have no problem with ample moisturization with just the jojoba oil, but at night with the mixture, I always feel like I'm using either too little or too much, and either have to gently pat my face to get some off or add some more on. Hopefully I'll have it down pat when things increase and my skin starts reacting...

Oh, and also, it's really weird that my complexion is looking oddly on the good side. SO WEIRD. I have three small, inflamed whiteheads in the area between my nose and cheek (right side), the sides of my nose are started to become a little red from the BP irritation, and I have some residual clogged pores from my previous moisturizer, but that's it. My skin is never this well behaved, and this is only my fourth day. I'm wondering if stopping the CeraVe lotion right when I started The Regimen is what cleared it so quickly, and then maybe I'll start having the expected side effects soon.

Edited by xdevochkax, 12 October 2013 - 05:13 AM.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

Completed my 4th night. I don't know if I'm updating too much, or if it's good that I'm documenting all changes/progress to keep myself on track.

I'm currently switching off between Jojoba Oil and Tarte's Maracuja Oil. They both work equally fine for me so I don't seem to be having a problem with that. The Maracuja Oil is a little more rich so I seem to need less of it than the Jojoba. It is significantly more pricey, but I don't mind using it since it's just been sitting in my skincare drawer collecting dust for awhile now.

I'm starting to get a good feel for the right amount of moisture I need (for now, until I up the BP). I used 3 pumps of my Neutrogena moisturizer and 3 drops of Maracuja Oil. I may try a fourth pump of the moisturizer and 1 more drop of oil tomorrow since my skin is starting to flake a little and the BP balled up on me a bit even after waiting 15 minutes. The oily feeling of the moisturizer is also subsiding.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

It's been about a week, so I started using the BP (half a pump) both morning and night now. I realized later in the day that I started using it this morning a day early, but whatev's, I'm not gonna beat myself up about it since the symptoms already started setting in...

My skin is super dry even if my moisturizer feels a little greasy. Sometimes I'll glide my finger across a small part of my face just to feel the moisturizer, and I'm often surprised that I have quite a decent layer of it on because my face still feels dry and tight underneath. Also starting to feel slight burning sensations at times, but it's not unbearable and my face isn't turning red. Maybe it's the feeling of the skin purging? Because I'm currently starting to get a few breakouts which I know is expected.

That's it for now!

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

I passed out cold last night without washing my face. :/ I just couldn't stay awake. Well... crap happens. Nothing I can do about it now.

My skin is still tolerating The Regimen fairly well... still flaky, dry, and pretty uncomfortable, but not unbearable. The only thing that's changed is my eyes are itchy and dry, even though I keep the BP pretty far from my eye area. My eye cream isn't cutting it so I've been using eye drops and putting a light layer of Aquaphor around my eye area which seems to be helping.

Edited by xdevochkax, 19 October 2013 - 07:04 AM.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

It's funny that I was going to write a post tonight saying that I've been using half a pump of BP twice a day for a week now and was planning on upping it to a full pump tomorrow because the itching/burning has subsided, but since I accidentally missed my routine tonight, I may wait another day or two.

I've missed two nights of The Regimen within my 2 weeks of being on it, which I don't feel is horrible. I may or may not get a comment on here saying I need to be more dedicated, and if so, that's fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm just choosing not to drive myself crazy only to lead to anxiety over it.

Edited by xdevochkax, 07 November 2013 - 01:04 AM.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

First, the night before last I went to a Halloween party and was a little worried about how my costume makeup would sit over the treatment, and also if I would have any adverse reactions because I was using white face paint. No breakouts, just extra redness because it took quite a bit of effort to get it all off. But at least I did take the time and dedication to take it off and do the Regimen after getting home drunk at 3 in the morning, lol.

Second, I'm now up to a full pump of BP day and night. Everywhere across my face downward from the bottom of my nose is red and sore. It already was before putting on and taking off the facepaint for the Halloween party, but I think it's now exacerbated from it.

Lastly, I did order and receive Dan's moisturizer and am unfortunately experiencing the slight tanning effect. It's not as bad as others have posted about, but my face is about a shade darker than my chest. It really sucks, because the moisturizer is very cooling and soothing which is why I won't be returning it. I'll just have to play around with it because I think it's possible the redness is distorting the color as well. For now I'm just going to use it at night and use one of my other moisturizers (plus SPF + Jojoba) during the day.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

Hey there, just wanted to lend you some support and wish you the absolute best! I've been using Dan's Regimen since May of 2013 and I'm now 100% clear...it's such a great feeling to get to that point and find something that ACTUALLY works. Good luck moving forward, I'm sure you'll see great results in no time!

Hey there, just wanted to lend you some support and wish you the absolute best! I've been using Dan's Regimen since May of 2013 and I'm now 100% clear...it's such a great feeling to get to that point and find something that ACTUALLY works. Good luck moving forward, I'm sure you'll see great results in no time!

Thanks, Randall! I've seen your posts around here and I appreciate your positive attitude and support towards everyone!

I will follow your log, seems interesting. xD

Really? I don't think it's all that interesting lol, but thanks.

My face is in quite a bit of pain right now but I'll update in a couple of days.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

Well I like how you write and there's parties and passing out, lol. Does your boyfriend get any skin irritation when you kiss? This has been a major issue with a lot of people and those pillowcase bleachings, fuaaaaaaaaaaaaark!

Well I like how you write and there's parties and passing out, lol. Does your boyfriend get any skin irritation when you kiss? This has been a major issue with a lot of people and those pillowcase bleachings, fuaaaaaaaaaaaaark!

As far as I know my fiance doesn't experience any transfer or irritation. He'd tell me if he did. And yes, my pillowcases have turned slightly lighter. You can't really notice it unless you're up close and inspecting them, but we have plenty of sets of pillowcases so it's not really a big deal.

----------

On another note, an update:

I've been on a full pump of BP morning and night for probably about a week now, and my face is getting moderately red & sore, is warm to the touch, and is REALLY peeling... all enough to the point of where I'm scared to try to put makeup on. I'm being generous with my moisturizer + jojoba oil but my face seems to completely soak it all up by mid-day leaving my dry patches clear in plain site. My face is suffering and I'm getting pissed off but it's not debilitating so I think I'm just gonna keep pushing through. I *did* work my way up slowly with the BP so I'm assuming this is normal.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

I've posted this on the boards, but I'm going to include it here as well:

It's been a few days short of a month since I started the regimen and my skin is *STILL* flaking- predominantly around my mouth & eyebrow area. And if I don't have a crap ton of moisturizer on (i.e. sometimes I roll around too much when I sleep and I tend to transfer most of it off onto my pillow, leaving my face dry in the morning) my skin then ends up looking leather-like in the flakey areas.

I'm pretty much used to the BP at this point - no burning or itching, just still a slightly flushed look, probably since I have fair skin, and tightness where the flaking is. Makes me nervous since I've seen regimen logs where the flaking and/or itching lasts wayyy beyond a normal time period... by that I mean years.

I'm doing everything I can to help the flakes - gentle jojoba oil rubs about twice a week, cleaning for 15 seconds at most (the extra few seconds because I have to cleanse Cortizone off my neck since I've developed dry patches there due to the weather change), and moisturizing generously (always including jojoba oil, using a heavier cream at night, and adding in an SPF during the day).

I'm thinking of ordering the AHA at this point since that should help with the flakes, even though I'm hesitant that it will irritate my skin since it's still kinda pink.

EDIT: I should add that a few pimples have finally shown up this week and last week. One on my chin and two on each cheek. So, I basically haven't had much purging at all, though I'll probably jinx myself now.

The BP takes care of the pimples fast and they clear up within 2-3 days. I only have one current active and it's on its way out. So we'll see how it goes from here regarding that.

Edited by xdevochkax, 05 November 2013 - 06:38 PM.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

This is a big change regarding how I've been writing and my attitudes in my log, but as of last night I completely stopped The Regimen.

A little while after doing The Regimen last night, my face starting feeling extremely hot. It's been warm to the touch most of the time these past few weeks but this was like, amped up HOT. So I went to the bathroom to look at it and it was BRIGHT RED. I mean seriously, pretty much clown red. It actually gave me an anxiety attack.

Needless to say, I couldn't take it anymore. I'm letting my skin heal for now. I have a lot of the residual flaking yet to fully slough off.

I do plan on revisiting The Regimen in the near future, but next time go wayyyy slower than the recommended time frame with the amount of BP.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

About 70% of the residual flaking from quitting The Regimen early is gone. As of right now I've had no breakouts whatsoever, either because I wasn't on it long enough or because it cleared me up quickly with the "purging" for me being only 4 or 5 pimples.

That's why I do trust The Regimen- because nothing has cleared me up nor kept me clear like it has, which is why my stance of returning to it in the future still stands.

As of right now I'm using mostly natural products. The natural route never really worked for me in the past but my general plan right now is to keep is as simple as possible so I can switch it around as I please since the ingredients are so minimal.

I've never been a fan of oil cleansing on a regular basis because of the longer process is takes to get all of the oil off (I do it the standard way- with a hot washcloth several times), but I've been really liking the results, especially for the residual flakes, so it's worth it.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

I started back on The Regimen tonight- well, technically last night since it's almost 2am here. A really bad breakout prompted me to do it earlier than I had planned.

The residual flaking completely stopped a few days ago so I wore foundation yesterday for the first time in over a month and my skin freaked out. I don't know if it was the foundation itself that caused it, or if it was a combo of just using foundation in general after abruptly stopping BP.

Either way, I'm upping my BP much slower this time around. Last time I pretty much cleared up when I was up to half a pump morning and night, so if I get to that point and stay clear again, I won't go any higher. If I end up needing more than half a pump after some time, then I'll take it as it comes.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

I had been using half a pump of BP only at night for 2 weeks, so on the 1st, I switched to half a pump both morning and night. Unfortunately my face is reacting somewhat similarly to how it was when I had previously increased faster than I am doing now. Mostly my face is red, but it is less flaky.

I've googled topics on reddened faces and it is a common reaction. I also image searched and it actually brought me to a couple of galleries on here. A few had showed the progress of red faces (much more red than mine) calming down after a couple of weeks so that makes me feel much better. So I'm not losing hope or giving up yet!

I will say that when it feels like too much to handle, I do skip a morning of BP here and there, and I'm okay with that.

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

So as of lately, I've noticed my face isn't as red as I think or feel it's been. Well, I really shouldn't say it's red, because it's not like it was the first time around... and that time it really WAS red. I think I'm making it out worse than it is because of the discomfort. My face is very flaky around my mouth, and I'm not surprised because that's pretty much the only part of our face that moves on a regular basis without being touched, and my face feels flushed from time to time.

Wearing foundation makes my skin feel really tight and accentuates the flakes so horribly which is a pretty big let down, so I'm looking into tinted moisturizers. I was never a fan of them before because I hated the greasy feeling of essentially layering a moisturizer over a moisturizer, but since my skin is so dry right now I have a feeling my skin will be fine with it. We'll see...

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.

Hey.
Sorry to hear your struggles. I am sure you have your reasons for not sharing. Personally, when ever I had a problem it would really get me down because I just felt like 'not only has this happened, but my skin sucks too. Why me?' But I have just started turning my skin problems around and I am sure you will too. It seems you are making good progress. All of the issues you stated are normal so you should be fine. Good luck.

Hey.
Sorry to hear your struggles. I am sure you have your reasons for not sharing. Personally, when ever I had a problem it would really get me down because I just felt like 'not only has this happened, but my skin sucks too. Why me?' But I have just started turning my skin problems around and I am sure you will too. It seems you are making good progress. All of the issues you stated are normal so you should be fine. Good luck.

Thanks for reading and your kind words.

I'm confused though, what am I not sharing?

My Story:
I've had mild/moderate adult on-set acne which began towards the end of 2009 (22 years old). Regarding my beliefs and the previous skincare/lifestyle changes I've tried, I've been conflicted, misinformed, resistant, allergic, and/or had my hopes up too high only to be let down. Many of my previous posts on here may reflect that. Considering I've never found an explanation as to why I developed acne in my twenties, whereas I've had flawless skin my entire life up until then, I claim to know nothing. I can only offer my humble advice based on my own personal experiences.